1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to footwear and in particular to an upper including a composite material for an article of footwear.
2. Description of Related Art
Articles of footwear, including composite materials, have been previously disclosed. Yang (U.S. patent number 2006/0053662) teaches a body for a skate boot. Yang teaches a sole portion, a toe portion, a heel portion and two upper portions extending from two sides of the upper portions that are made of fiber laminations constructed by multiple layers of fiber fabrics and epoxy resins by means of a hot pressing die. Yang teaches that the fibrous fabrics in the fiber laminations can be carbon fiber fabrics.
Labonte (U.S. patent number 2005/0210709) teaches a footwear having an outer shell of foam. Labonte teaches an article of footwear including an outer shell for receiving the heel, the ankle and the lateral and medial sides of the foot. Labonte teaches an outer shell comprising three layers, including a thermoformed layer, a woven layer and a film layer. Labonte teaches that the woven layer can include carbon fibers.
Both Yang and Labonte teach uppers with regions that are not covered by carbon fiber layers, which may decrease durability in these regions. Additionally, neither Yang or Labonte teach flexible composite materials that may be used for various types of footwear. Instead both Yang and Labonte teach composite materials that are stiff, which may be used with footwear such as skates that do not require much flexibility for the user.